Memory is like a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things.
- Pierce Harris

Friday, January 22, 2010

Aayirththil Oruvan (2010)

If you have not watched AayirthailOruvan (One in a thousand), or if you are considering this movie for a weekend, then step back. Trust me, there is so much more productive work that can be done in those three hours instead of wasting your time on this one.

While the concept was good, the execution was poor. It seemed more like a draft version rather than a finished product. Nevertheless, this fantasy-adventure is claimed to be the first one of its kind in Tamil cinema.

In the war between the Cholas and the Pandyas, the former is defeated and retreats into an unknown place along with the Pandya's prized idol, an hierloom. No one knows of the Cholas whereabouts. However the Pandya's legacy lives on in the form of AnithaPandyan (Reema Sen), the Intelligence Officer (who relies more on her physical attributes), who is all set on an expedition with other members of the Pandya family to hunt down the Cholasthrough any means, retrieve the idol and end the latter's dynasty. She ropes in LavanyaChandramouli (Andrea Jeremiah), the estranged daughter of the famed archaeologist/historian, Chandramouli (PrathapPothan), who goes missing during his mission of finding the Cholas . Anitha uses Lavanya to interpret Chandramouli's findings and lead them to their goal.

The story really sounds interesting and makes you sit up. But as the movie progresses, you soon realise that you have to brace yourself for some agonizing hours with a badly misdirected venture. There are huge - on the face errors, that makes your stomach cringe.

For instance, the temple tower shown in the movie is only seen in north India and does not conform to the south Indian architectural style. Afterall, the shots were filmed in Jaisalmer.

The graphics used in the movie are outrageously blatant and stands out embarrassingly. To make matters worse, the artist who has given the voice over for Reema Sen exhibited poor diction and lacked the impact while delivering dialogues required for a period drama. Moreover, the voice sync was completely out of sync. So you actually have clear shots where Reema is mouthing the scenes, while the voice follows at its own pace.

Reema tries really hard to act and look like the avenging princess, but really fails to make the cut, simply because she looks too forced and artificial. This is possibly because she was more focused on her costume rather than concentrating on her role. If she could weave in some grace into her body language, that would be a great bonus for the viewers.

Andrea unfortunately has very limited scope in the movie and PrathapPothan's talent was absolutely wasted. The only saving grace in this three hour ordeal is KarthiShivakumar, who has a natural flair for acting and his career as an actor looks absolutely promising.

Parthiban deserves special mention for his excellent performance in a short, but pivotal role as a the Chola King.G.V. Prakash needs to pay more attention to the musical compositions and work on the appropriate musical elements that enhances the theme and mental make-up of the movie. The musical score on the whole was certainly a let down even though one or two numbers were good.